The man convicted of murder for shooting Ahmaud Arbery withdrew his guilty plea on a federal hate crime charge today.
Travis McMichael reversed his plan to plead guilty in the federal case days after a U.S. District Court judge rejected the terms of a plea deal that was met with passionate objections by Arbery’s parents.
The plea deal for Travis McMichael and his father included a request to transfer the McMichaels from Georgia’s state prison system to federal custody. The deal would have required the McMichaels to admit to racist motives and forfeit the right to appeal their federal sentence.
The McMichaels and a neighbor were convicted of murder in a Georgia state court last fall and sentenced to life in prison.
Now all three men will return to court for the federal trial next week.
